Accommodation is a concern of every traveler, whether looking for a place to pitch a tent or a luxury suite in a fancy resort. Booking accommodation, dealing with the vast array of accommodation options, and considering alternative lodging options are all issues that travelers face.

Finding accommodation

Finding accommodation can be one of the most frustrating aspects of planning your travels. There are two ways to solve the accommodation problem: booking in advance or finding a place on the day.

Booking in advance

Booking in advance gives the traveller peace of mind that they will have somewhere to sleep once they arrive at their destination. It is also a good idea when travelling to a popular tourist destination.

This can be done in a number of ways:

Over the internet

Through a travel agent

Over the telephone

Online

You can book accommodation online, either at hotel's own web site or at web site of an agency. Depending upon where you are going, this can be extremely useful. Yet if you are traveling to somewhere a bit more out of the way, for example, a small city or town, you may find something, but there will be accommodation options not listed on the internet. In this situation, it is better to find accommodation "on the day", as described below.

Meta-search (price comparison) websites are very useful. They offer an online service which searches and compares numerous accommodation websites at once to return the cheapest price across them all. This saves time as they do the searching and comparison for you.

Another frequent situation is that hotel has its own web site, but doesn't publish which dates it can it is not busy. Then filling a "Contact us" form or sending an email are equal choices for inquiring every detail you need.

Email

For booking by email, the sequence of events is roughly the same, with some steps omitted when not applicable:

ask for confirmation for your embassy; provide all personal details (passport details of every visitor etc) they may need to issue the confirmation

in the end, ask for cancellation policy, directions to the hotel and other practical details that don't affect your decision to stay there.

When you use non-native language for writing to a hotel, it's work best to ask one or two questions per email, get answers and choose next questions: asking all questions at once frequently results in huge delays that can be broken only by a telephone call (and splitting questions message into small pieces afterwards).

Travel agent

Travel agents often have deals with specific hotels, although you may find it possible to book other forms of accommodation, like camping grounds, through a travel agent.

Telephone

Consumers often find the best lodging rates by calling travel suppliers directly. Contacting the specific property, rather than the chain's main toll-free telephone line, provides the best opportunity to negotiate discounts and ask about specials (advertised and unadvertised). In the U.S., hotel and lodging listings can be found for free either by name or category via 1-800-Free411.

Cancelling a reservation

You might have to change or cancel a reservation. For example if your plane/train/bus is delayed or cancelled and you therefore arrive a day later.

Depending on how you booked the accommodation, you may be able to contact the hotel or pension directly by phone to make the necessary change/cancellation. If it was booked through a travel agent or consolidator, you may need to go through them.

Pay attention to the cancellation policy when you make the reservation. Most hotels will require a credit card number to guarantee the room. They will usually charge you for one night if you cancel less than 24 hours before arrival. In some popular tourist destinations such as Hawaii or Las Vegas, this minimum notice may be as long as 72 hours, or you may be charged for the entire stay. This can happen even when you make reservations through a travel agent and your delay is caused by transportation also arranged by that travel agent.

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Some hotels and pensions will let you make a simple booking by phone or internet. Call and cancel you reservation when you know that you will not make it.

Most hotels will require a credit card number to make a reservation. They will usually charge you for one night if you cancel less than 24 hours before arrival. In some popular tourist destinations such as Hawaii or Las Vegas, this minimum notice may be as long as 72 hours.

If you make reservations through a travel agent you can get charged for accommodation that you do not use even though your delay is caused by transportation also arranged by the travel agent.

On the day

If you have planned your trip yourself, which means you have not decided to use a package from a travel agent, sometimes finding accommodation when you arrive is the best option.

If you have not made reservations in advance, this should be your first priority upon arriving. The best and/or cheapest hotels have a tendency to fill up most quickly, and looking for a place to sleep as darkness falls can be an anxious - and even dangerous - experience.

It is sometimes frustrating to be reading a guidebook and looking for the listed recommendations trying to decipher an unfamiliar map having just travelled for several hours. In this case, it is possible to walk around and inquire at the first few places you see. Courage and confidence are required for this type of thing, especially if you are not using your native languages. However, it is sometimes easier to do this rather than tracking down listings, especially for the first night.

Larger cities and popular tourist destinations may have "tourist information offices". These may be operated by the local government, a consortium of local hotels and attractions, or independent parties (of varying trustworthiness). These frequently offer listings of hotels and other lodging options (e.g. hostels, bed-and-breakfasts). Some act as booking agents for hotels, placing visitors in facilities with vacancies (though there may be a fee for this service).

Finding bargains

Newly opened hotels. Frequently, the best hotels are those just opened. Beyond being new and modern, they need to attract clientele, and may strive to offer more comfort or services for less money. It often makes sense to inquire locals upon arrival which hotels / pensions etc have opened in the last year or two.

Last-minute offers. Many hotels discount their unsold rooms and sell them through specialist 'last minute' type consolidators. The reduced rates available from these consolidators are not usually advertised in the hotels themselves (the hotels do not want to advertise these lower rates to guests who are paying full rates). Contacting a consolidator directly can save you money and, especially in larger cities, legwork - the better companies will usually telephone the hotels within your budget to confirm availability, important when you've got tired legs in a large city like London for example. Look for consolidators offering a telephone as well as online booking service so you are not dependent on internet access when trying to find a hotel.

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Newly opened hotels

Frequently, the best hotels are those just opened. Beyond being new and modern, they need to attract clientele, and may strive to offer more comfort or services for less money. It often makes sense to inquire locals upon arrival which hotels / pensions etc have opened in the last year or two.

Last-minute offers

For people looking for a bargain, many hotels discount their unsold rooms and sell them through specialist 'last minute' type consolidators. The reduced rates available from these consolidators are not usually advertised in the hotels themselves (the hotels do not want to advertise these lower rates to guests who are paying full rates). Contacting a consolidator directly can save you money and, especially in larger cities, legwork - the better companies will usually telephone the hotels within your budget to confirm availability, important when you've got tired legs in a large city like London for example. Look for consolidators offering a telephone as well as online booking service so you are not dependent on internet access when trying to find a hotel.

Types of accommodation

Hostels (more commonly referred to as "youth hostels") are a loosely-defined form of guesthouse, generally low-budget compared to other places to sleep. Although often used by youth there is usually no upper age limit.

Capsule hotels are probably the cheapest accommodation you can get in Japan. The "rooms" are little more than small one-person capsules with only a mattress, radio, and TV. Note that most capsule hotels are segragated by gender.

Bed and Breakfasts (B&Bs) and Guesthouses provide hotel style rooms. However, they are typically smaller residences and you will interact with your hosts and other guests, often eating together and sharing common spaces. Bed and Breakfasts and Guesthouses are found both inside and out of major centers. Many market themselves as providing a "quiet escape". There are many associations and websites that offer help finding a Bed and Breakfast in your travel area.

A hospitality exchange or home stay network is an organization that connects travelers with local residents in the cities they're visiting. If travelers can connect with the right people at the right time, they can get room and sometimes board in the place they're visiting for free or at a deep discount. Network size goes from a few thousands to a hundred thousands, and most networks are growing steadily.

Car camping, Caravaning, RV camping... it goes by many names, and the experience varies widely, but this form of camping involves carrying your equipment in your motor vehicle, which you drive right to your campsite. Unlike more traditional camping, car camping allows you to carry quite a bit more equipment, and the focus is usually to enjoy the site, cook-outs, day hikes, and other outdoor activities. Some just use their vehicle for transportation, pitching a stand-alone tent to sleep in. Some use it to pull a pop-up trailer/tent or use their car or van as part of the tent or shade structure. Some drive large vans or recreational vehicles to sleep in, which may include many of the comforts of home (on a more compact scale).

(to be merged from Finding accommodation) Caravan parks tend to have two or three types of accommodation: powered sites to put your caravan and car; caravans owned by the park that you can stay in; and small cabins with a bit more space. Caravan parks are usually located in medium sized towns and cities, or in very popular tourist spots.

Camping is do-it-yourself accommodation: you carry your roof and your bedding in your backpack or your car. It's often the only choice of accommodation you have when you're travelling off the beaten track, but there are also very popular sites for camping holidays. Always check whether you need a permit to camp, how much it costs and whether your choice of site will be restricted. You generally need to get permits either in advance or on arrival. Many popular national parks or protected sites have limited camping to particular sites and some have banned it altogether. When hiking, there will often be set campsites a day's walk apart, and often you are forbidden to camp between them. Permits can typically be obtained in advance or on arrival, but may be hard to get or sell out during very popular holiday periods - don't blithely plan a Christmas camping holiday without being sure you can get a permit if you need one.

(to be merged from Finding accommodation)Permits for sites at very popular holiday periods are actually quite hard to get and sometimes sell out months in advance, don't blithely plan a Christmas camping holiday without being sure you can get a permit if you need one.

Villas: When planning your holidays you have to take in consideration not only the location, but also the best accommodation that will provide you and your party with value for money according to your requirements.

If you are looking to get away from it all and relax with your family in privacy, than a holiday villa would be the ideal choice for you. By renting a private villa you will have your own kitchen, living/dining room, bedroom and in many cases your own private swimming pool. Renting a villa provides you, not only, with more space and privacy but is also a more economical option rather than staying at a small hotel room.

A villa can usually accommodate a minimum of 4 people, and the rental price is charged per week making it more cost-effective than staying at a hotel.

Vacation rentals. Many residents of popular tourist destinations lease their houses and apartments to vacationers. The residence may have been bought specifically for this purpose or the normal occupants may vacate it during some parts of the year. The guests will have full use of the residence, usually with utilities included but no servicing or meals. This approach can be cheaper than booking a hotel room for the same length of time (and give more space than a hotel room), especially if travelling with a family or other sizable group of people. Facilities will vary depending on the property, but usually include kitchen and laundry facilities and possibly amenities like a swimming pool (or access to a communal pool), a games room (table tennis, pool, Playstation 2, X-Box, ...), and TV/video/DVD players. Contacting the owners directly is the ideal way to make arrangements as they can answer any questions you may have about the property, and may offer more competitive pricing since there's no middle-man.